Feasibility study into reopening Skipton-Colne

THE Department for Transport is to fund a full feasibility study into reopening the Skipton-Colne railway.

Almost 48 years to the day since the line was shut, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling and local MP Andrew Stephenson visited Colne station on February 3 to make the commitment.

Pendle MP Stephenson has campaigned extensively alongside the Skipton and East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) group for the lost 12 miles of line to be reopened.

Grayling said: “I think there is a strong case. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Both for passenger services and freight services, this is a link which could make a real difference. We need a whole set of improved connections across the Pennines - that can’t just be between Manchester and Leeds, we have to do things further north as well.”

Colne is currently served by one train an hour to Preston, and the basic station is used by fewer than 100,000 people a year. In Skipton, that figure is more than one million and the railway has been the subject of extensive investment through electrification.

The line between the two closed in February 1970. After years of pushing to keep the project in the public eye, SELRAP estimates the cost of reopening the railway with double track at approximately £100 million.

While most of the formation is unobstructed, and some in public ownership, immediately beyond the buffer stops at Colne a new link road will need to be crossed. Likewise, close to Skipton, the town’s bypass has breached the trackbed.

“Very simply, this is about economics, growth and education,” said SELRAP Chairman Peter Bryson.

“Where we are standing in Pendle is one of the most deprived areas in the UK. Yet 30 miles away are two of the biggest cities, Leeds and Manchester. There are job opportunities there. People from here should be able to get there by safe, efficient and modern public transport.”

Prominent businesses have also rallied to the cause, with Skipton